"How could that idiot Luffy be some Nika, meow..." After hearing Bonney's description of Nika, Sanji Meow immediately curled his lip in disdain. "He can't even beat me, and he's supposed to be the Sun God..."
No... he really is Nika...
Xie Wen silently snarked, then curled his lip as well. "Why are you pinning your hopes on some legendary figure? Liberation is something you ultimately have to achieve yourselves. As for laughter, I'm already happy enough with cats around me. I don't need any Nika at all."
He tilted his head and posed a soul-searching question to Bonney. "If you had to choose between Kuma and Nika, who would you want to bring you laughter?"
"Father, of course!" Little Bonney answered without hesitation.
"See?" Xie Wen spread his hands. "This Nika isn't quite as important as you imagined, is he?"
"But Father seems to really like Nika..."
Bonney's fondness for Nika came entirely from Kuma's influence, so Xie Wen's slightly mocking remarks did not particularly bother her... though it was also possible she had not picked up on them.
Xie Wen smacked his lips, suddenly realizing something. Why was he discussing this stuff with a five-year-old girl? Even if he wanted to debate it, he should be talking to Kuma. The manga really had influenced him too deeply; he had unconsciously treated Bonney as an adult.
So he did not continue discussing whether she should believe in Nika, and instead shifted the terms of the discussion. "There's nothing wrong with liking Nika, of course. He brings everyone laughter, so naturally everyone likes him. Just like... you really like Klee and the others too, don't you?"
"Yes! And I really like you too, Big Brother Xie Wen!"
"That's my honor." Xie Wen smiled and ruffled her hair, then pointed to